I wanted to read this book because of the cover and title.
I thought it was a good story about starting over, stepping outside your comfort zone. Who doesn’t love a book that has books in it too. It sounded like a lovely place to live.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy of this book. It was really good

I really thought that the narrative of this story had some real depth to it and I was excited to see how the character navigated so many changes in her life, but in the end I just kind of skimmed to get the story. The writing fell a little flat and I found a lot of instances where the old writing adage “show me, don’t tell me” would have been very beneficial. I did enjoy some of the dialogue about books, but found the rest of the dialogue and writing lacked nuance.

A really solid book. The only reason that I didn't give this 5 stars is that things started getting a wee bit repetitive regarding Jess's need to get a job and her ongoing thoughts surrounding Aiden. And I thought that some things about Jess's personality were not 100 percent consistent throughout. We know that she has a hard time maintaining friendships and getting out of her comfort zone, so it felt a bit off that she decided to start buttng in on people's lives. What was lovely though is that Jess finds a place she can call home in Middlemass and finds herself some other friends outside of her long-term friendship with her best friend Hannah. I loved the discussion about books. And I really wanted a library in my backyard that is installed in an old telephone box. 

"The Littlest Library" follows Jess Metcalf. Jess is reeling from losing her job at a library and the loss of her grandmother Mimi, months earlier. Jess is at a crossroads when she decides to take a car trip to get out of Bourton-on-the-Marsh and ends up in the village of Middlemass. She gets stranded and comes across a cottage for sale with a telephone box in front. Before she knows it, Jess puts down an offer and moves out of her grandmother's old home to start anew in Middlemass. Jess starts trying to fix up her new home but keeps running across her neighbor (who irks her) Aiden and his daughter. But she also meets some of the other villagers like Diana, Mungo, Paddy, and Becky who start to fill in some of the spaces she has let go empty for so many years. When Jess somehow ends up agreeing to run a library out of the telephone box in front of her house, she finds herself more fulfilled than she has been in years.

All in all a lovely story. I liked Jess a lot. She loves books, and turns her head to building up her beautiful garden. The book follows her over several months and you get to see her changing and her yearning for something more with Aiden though it looks like that may be out of the cards. 

The book's main tension is that some in the village don't want the library and Jess has to decide what she is going to do about it, and what is she going to do about finding a job. 

The other characters are delightful and I loved all of the goings on with everyone. I did say above that Jess sticking her nose in and being judgmental of some people does creep up now and again, but she's quick to realize she's doing it. 

The writing was great. Alexander really does make you feel like you are in the middle of an English village living in a cute cottage. This book did make me miss summer, but also the month of September. 

I loved the ending. It's a quiet thing and you can guess at what happens next.

This is a delightfully charming tale about Jess, a young woman who loses the grandmother who raises her, and moves to a small town to rebuild her life. She manages to put her grandmother's book collection to good use by turning an old phone booth into a makeshift library. Things get complicated when she develops feelings for her hunky neighbor, she doesn't have a job yet, and the littlest library is at risk of closing. While it was predictable for the most part, for me it was a welcome respite from all of the heavy historical fiction I have been reading lately. The characters were likable and quirky, and each were richly developed. While some aspects seemed a bit contrived, albeit but for the sake of happy endings, all loose ends were tied up to a satisfying conclusion. My one criticism was that the author seemed to have a very bleak outlook about the future of libraries, and this was mentioned throughout the book. I believe that when something is spoken about/written about, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps libraries are more at risk in the UK and Australia than they are here in the U.S., but it still was disconcerting to read over and over. I also didn't care for the way the author seemed to play into the stereotype that librarians have to dress in bleak, frumpy, out-of-date clothing (especially since this is a present-day story).. Overall though, if you are a book lover looking for a lighthearted tale to enjoy and are attracted by the title of this book, go for it! Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for an advance e-reader copy of this book.

This book felt like coming home. I could not put it down. I loved the community brought together by books and how everyone helped each other, and especially the philosophy that there is a book to cure every ailment. While I am a sucker for a swoony romance I appreciated that a man wasn’t at the forefront of a solution for Jess.

Such a sweet, charming, delightful and happy book. It was such a wonderful escape - I wanted to move next door to Jess and borrow books from the littlest library and find an inscription that meant something to me from Mimi.

The Littlest Library
By Poppy Alexander
3.5/5

The idea of a little library built into an abandoned British phone box is all it took for me to pick up this one! #booklover #anglophile

Jess is adrift. The grandmother who raised her from age 4 has recently died, and she has lost her librarian job. Nothing is keeping her where she is. On a whim, she lists her house for sale. As she’s driving during a viewing one afternoon, she finds a small village with a cute, albeit rundown, cottage on the edge of an idyllic pond. As she’s investigating, she finds the cottage is for sale and impulsively purchases it.

Jess soon finds out the purchase agreement requires her to deal with a urine-soaked, abandoned phone box sitting in front of the cottage instead of removing it. She’s met by a typical cast of characters as she learns about the cottage and phone box options: the dramatic city council lead, the older gay bachelor, the overworked and overtired mom of three, and the hunky yet emotionally unavailable neighbor.

Coincidentally, not only is Jess a librarian, but she also has ten boxes filled with her late grandmother’s favorite books. She turns the phone box into a little library and finds it fills the gaps in her life: purpose, a growing circle of friends who visit the library, and confidence to try things she wouldn’t in her life before. The story is not without adversity and a touch of romance, and of course, it has a happy ending. I enjoyed following Jess’s growth, though got annoyed with her jumping to conclusions. There were a few repetitive themes that were a bit trying, but overall, it was a fun, warmhearted read.

Thirty-something homebody Jess has lost her job at the library as well as her grandmother who raised her and is feeling rootless.

Eager for a new beginning, she impulsively sells the house, packs her grandmother’s books, and buys a rundown cottage in a new village that comes with a red telephone box in the yard. And clashes with previous owner Aidan.

She turns the box into a little free library, connects with her community, and starts a pretty weak romance.

The writing is descriptive and the setting comes alive. But our librarian Jess thinks “…the digital age were making traditional librarian skills increasingly obsolete.” and “Libraries are a dying breed...” So, I have my doubts about how much effort the author out into understanding librarianship. If that’s true, then how realistic are her other descriptions and what else did she get wrong?

Jess is afraid of change and is still dealing with the trauma of the loss of her parents when she was 4. She struggles to form friendships and is lonely, but she isn’t shy. Still, I had a hard time connecting with her and her choices. It’s a cute story about getting out of your comfort zone and making connections, but I found it slow paced.

I received an arc from NetGalley

Thank you Net Galley, for giving me the opportunity to read and review it early!!

I enjoyed reading this story. I love books that have anything to do with books or reading. I thought it was really cute. I liked how they mentioned classic novels in the story. Definitely check more of her stuff out.

A library in a phone booth? A woman dealing with tragedy by uprooting her life and starting over? Sign me up for a trip back to England to visit the village of Middlemass. It's a small little village within driving distance to Birmingham, but you'll feel like you've walked into an episode of All Creatures Great and Small for the general feel of the town.
Jess is a librarian and lover of books. After her grandmother passes away and she loses her job, she feels lost in a sea of despair. She is being forced to sell her home and on the day there is a viewing of the house, she takes a drive into the country and her car stops her in Middlemass where she is instantly charmed by the lake, the ducks, and a small cottage. Being impulsive for once, she puts an offer down on the cottage and it's accepted! After she moves in and it's decided that the phone booth on her property should be a library, she pulls out the 10 boxes of books she's never been able to go through before and creates the littlest library.
The premise of this book and the descriptions of the town and cottage are perfect, it really pulled me into the story. I loved reading about how Jess was fixing up the cottage, her unwanted house guests, and the books; however, there are too many characters in the story and they drag down the plot in the middle of the book. For such a small village, there are a lot of people living there and I found myself getting a little lost and not being terribly interested in the other characters. There's a whole subplot about a stay at home mom that seemed to drag a bit too. As a working mom, I understood the problems she was going through, but it seemed a little one sided.
Overall, the book is good and for the first half, I could barely put it down. It does get a little slow in the middle, but has a very satisfying ending and you'll be happy you visited Middlemass. And you'll never look at an old phone booth quite the same way again.

What cute book!
I loved the idea of turning an old telephone booth into a Little Library!

I enjoyed reading the transformation that jess had thought out the book.

If you want a quick, cute read that will keep you engaged the whole time, The Littlest Library is the book!


Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review,

The Littlest Library

I couldn’t have come across a more “me” book! I love little libraries and the sense of community I feel they bring to the areas they are located in.

This book is about a young woman who finds herself while stewarding a little library in the community she moves to. The book takes place in the English countryside.

An old phone booth is used to house the little library. I can imagine with the help of the cover how beautiful the library is. The library proves to be the catalyst the people in the community need to come together, fix old wounds, and form new relationships.

Overall, the book was heartwarming and engaging. I really enjoyed the character development and ending. I won’t say more as I don’t want to ruin it.

The Littlest Library will be published on July 19, 2022. I highly recommend grabbing a copy!

This one was a miss for me. I did like the characters and the setting. However, I felt that the story dragged on and there wasn't anything happening. A lot of talking about doing things, but not really doing anything. I was happy with the ending and the way things worked out for Jess, but overall, it was an effort to make it to the end.

This is a very sweet and charming read. The little library out of a phone booth reminds of "Little Free Libraries" which pop up in many neighborhoods all over the country. Reading is important and this is made clear in this story. It creates friendships and bring back memories from your youth when you read books from your past.

2.5 stars - a cute, cozy story about life changing and learning to step out of your comfort zone, BUT it was so bloody slow and overly descriptive. The village cast of characters was mildly entertaining but very one note and not very engaging. The romance was so forced and weak! Not really believable in the end.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jess is devastated when her beloved grandmother, Mimi, passes away after an illness, and now she has lost her librarian job. It is hard, but she decides to sell Mimi’s house, where she was raised. Too painful for Jess to be at the house while it is being shown to prospective buyers, she decides to take a drive for the day. At one point, to avoid a traffic jam, she takes a turn and ends up driving through the village of Middlemass. She is surprised to see a red telephone box and her curiosity has her going up to a ramshackle cottage nearby. She finds out that the cottage for sale, and the red telephone box is on the property. Almost on a whim, Jess buys the cottage. She gets off to a rough start with her next-door neighbor, Aiden, and he has his own issues. With encouragement from some of her new friends and using the boxes of books she and Mimi had collected, Jess converts the telephone box into a little library.

The villagers are borrowing books, sharing reading memories. Jess loves sharing the books and living in the village, but she may not be able to stay if she is unable to find a job. Just as she is at a decision point, several things are happening which can affect her decision. Jess may find that having taken a different path lands you right where you needed to be all along.

This is a cute and cozy story. Jess takes a step outside her comfort zone and moves to a small village where she starts a little library with her late grandmother’s books. I loved reading Jess’s decisions to do something new in her life despite being nervous about the unknown.

I think author's are amazing creators and I truly appreciate their process. That is why it is so hard for me when I don't connect to a book. I didn't hate the story, but I just didn't connect with it. I loved the setting and the concept for the book, but just didn't feel like I connected with any of the characters. I know there are others who this book will be perfect for. It is a sweet story with a feel-good premise. It just wasn't for me. can not even imagine the time and energy that goes into writing a book.

I was gifted an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The story was a cute idea, but it lacked a lot of sustenance for me and didn’t really keep my interest. It was a nice coming of age and finding yourself story, but it was very back and forth with the main character about what she was going to do next. I really wish I had loved this book because it truly was a cute idea, but I just think it needed something more to make it great.

I honestly was bored. The concept is cute and sounded fabulous but I just could not get into it. And the many paragraphs describing the house and her wanders through it are so repetitive. I there was a lot of skimming done on my part.